Persistant rash and DH wants to quit cloth. Update in OP.

Love4Science

ETA: Sorry for the novel.

I realize this is incredibly similar to the "Ammonia Burn" post but I was hoping for some help because we too are dealing with a wicked rash.

LO is 7 weeks old tomorrow.  We started CDing at 4.5 weeks because we were waiting for the stump to fall off/she got thrush/I got thrush/it was T-giving and we were traveling.  She had a reddish bum when we started CDing so we were using CJs.  Then it got worse and she got a really red rash in her crack with bright red round flat spots in her crack. Nothing on the cheeks.  We switched to Grandma El's for a few days to no avail, so we went back to sposies with red Boudreaux's for 4 days and the rash went away.  I put her back in cloth on Sunday morning and now we have a rash again but this time it looks different.

Rash: Looks like an angry red burn starting at one end of her bum crack and going all the way to the other ranging from 1/4 to 1/2 inch wide.  It's not in the crack though.  If she were able to stand up and her cheeks were together, it basically looks like someone took a paintbrush and ran bright red down where her crack is but when you pull the cheeks apart there's no rash. It's textured, feels like really dry skin and maybe a little welty, but no bumps.

Diapers: Using Kawaii P&N stuffed with inserts, Imagine bamboo AIO, but mostly workhorses and prefolds.  Changing every 1.5-2 hours except at night when it's every 3.5 (when she wakes to eat).  Washing is EOD in a non-HE top loader.  I run a "medium" load which fills the drum half way; filling it all the way seems to give the diapers too much room. Warm rinse, hot wash with powdered Tide to line 1, cold rinse, cold rinse again.  Dry on medium in dryer one cycle then finish drying on a rack.

Bum care: Homemade fleece/terry 2-sided wipes with water, poopy diapers we use Kissaluvs Lotion Potion (the pre-made stuff for now) which we spray one shot right on her bum and wipe off with a water wipe.  Pat dry with a dry wipe every change.  CJs or Grandma El's every change.

Other info: I went off obvious dairy (ice cream, milk, yogurt, butter) and soy (tofu, margarine, soy milk, etc.) the day after we started CDing because she was having greenish poo with the occasional blood and major gas.  Then I dropped eggs as well since that seemed to be giving her problems too.  Her poo is now yellow and she's much more comfortable.  Before I put her back in CDs on Sunday, I bleached all the diapers, wipes, pail liners, wet bags, and covers because I thought maybe her rash was yeast (DH then convinced me it probably wasn't since it didn't look like yeast).  I used 1/4 cup bleach for a full drum of hot water.  Bleaching went hot water with bleach, cold rinse x 5, dryer on hot one cycle, cold rinse x 3, dryer on hot one cycle, rack dry.  The diapers don't smell like ammonia when they're wet.

The only thing I haven't tried is a fleece liner.  I have 6 of the microfleece/hemp doublers from GMD so we're trying those today and I have some fleece in my sewing dresser I'm going to cut up as well.  Today is also diaper wash day.  Can anyone PLEASE help me because DH wants to quit cloth.  He likes it, I love it, but he says it's not worth it for how much we have to put her back in sposies because of her constant rash.  She's outgrowing her NB stash really quickly and I need to buy her OS stash, but I can't unless I can fix this rash problem!
Update: I dug out all the stay dry dipes I could find, including a few OS I had stashed away for after NB and forgotten about. I also made a dozen stay dry liners to go in her workhorses. After 24 hours with only stay-dry fabric and generous amounts of Grandma El's her bum looks SO much better! Still a little pink and rashy in some spots but such a HUGE improvement. I'm still thinking acidic poo might be a problem as well, so I'm making changes there too, but I guess she's really sensitive to wetness! Thank you all again for your help!

Love4Science

As I'm sitting here with OJ in hand and thinking about my tuna and tomato salad I'm going to make for lunch.

Crap.

Thank you

sarenu1

AFwifelife said:

Are you eating anything acidic?  Tomatoes regularly?  A morning glass of OJ? Sound more like an acidic poop issue than a diaper issue.

Also, she might have a sensitivity to Tide.  Even if you use it with all of her other clothes, I've found that a wet diaper in a sensitive area can cause a reaction.

But if it's centralized around her bum, I'd look at acidic foods first.

TJ1979

Have you tried switching to water only for wipes for a bit?  My E couldn't use any sort of wipe solution whatsoever without breaking out.

sarenu1

TJ1979 said:

Have you tried switching to water only for wipes for a bit?  My E couldn't use any sort of wipe solution whatsoever without breaking out.

This too.  Do all E's have skin sensitivity issues?  Because mine breaks out in bumps if I even think I've figured out her issues.

TJ1979

sarenu1 said:

TJ1979 said:

Have you tried switching to water only for wipes for a bit?  My E couldn't use any sort of wipe solution whatsoever without breaking out.

This too.  Do all E's have skin sensitivity issues?  Because mine breaks out in bumps if I even think I've figured out her issues.

Paging @stoneycakes... she has an E as well.

stoneycakes

Hey.  I'm here! 

TJ1979

stoneycakes said:

Hey.  I'm here! 

Well... does your E have sensitive skin too?

stoneycakes

TJ1979 said:

stoneycakes said:

Hey.  I'm here! 

Well... does your E have sensitive skin too?

Yes.  Very much so.  In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that he's still sensitive to dairy, but now only gets eczema instead of the whole gastrointestinal reaction he used to have.

sarenu1

stoneycakes said:

TJ1979 said:

stoneycakes said:

Hey.  I'm here! 

Well... does your E have sensitive skin too?

Yes.  Very much so.  In fact, I'm beginning to suspect that he's still sensitive to dairy, but now only gets eczema instead of the whole gastrointestinal reaction he used to have.

I wish someone had told me this when we were thinking of names.  I would have totally avoid all the E names.

Love4Science

Thanks for all the suggestions!  I'm going to try eliminating the OJ and reducing the tomato consumption, skipping the Lotion Potion, put some Waxelene in my Amazon cart for when I order Christmas presents later today, and I just ordered 8 new P&N since I only have 3, our stash is mainly cotton, and I was thinking about doing it anyway because they fit her really well.  Merry Christmas to me.

If all that fails, I'll switch detergents.

But seriously, thank you.  You're all awesome.

TJ1979

Keep us posted.  Don't give up, come back if you need help.  Or, you know, just stay.

nonimouse12

J (5.5 mo) gets a similar rash sometimes--I think it's either acidic poo or he's just really sensitive to poo. I do Boudreaux with a cloth wipe as a liner and it usually clears up in a day or so.

freezorburn

If you suspect acidic poo it might be a good idea to keep a food journal for a few days, and look up the pH of everything you eat -- you might be surprised as to what might be contributing to the problem.